


The Last Visit

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, First War with Voldemort OR Second War with Voldemort, Order of the Phoenix - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-14
Updated: 2009-02-14
Packaged: 2018-10-26 12:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10786998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: Petunia invites a very pregnant Lily to tea so she can show off her brand-new son.  A bittersweet story of the last time the sisters saw each other.





	The Last Visit

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes:

 

* * *

Lily rang the doorbell at Number Four Privet Drive.  The summer sun beat down on her head, and she noticed that her ankles were badly swollen.  James had not wanted her to accept Petunia’s invitation to tea.            

  _“The baby’s due any day now,” he said. “You need to rest.”_

_“James, I’ve been resting so much I’m sick of it,” Lily protested. “Besides, I want to see my nephew!  I wonder who he looks like?”_

_“If he looks anything like his father, they should have drowned him at birth,” James said sourly._

_“That’s an awful thing to say!  Dudley is our nephew,” Lily said reprovingly, although she wanted to laugh._

_“Go on, then.  Just be careful, and don’t stay long.”_              

Petunia opened the door.             

“Come in,” she said, looking nervously past Lily. “Did anyone see you arrive?”            

 “I didn’t land my broomstick in the front yard, if that’s what you’re worried about.  I took the Knight Bus,” Lily explained. “It dropped me off at the corner.” 

  “Night bus?  There’s no bus service here,” Petunia said in a bewildered tone.            

 “Never mind,” Lily said shortly, not wishing to explain.                  

The house was cool and Lily pulled her damp hair away from her sweaty neck.  A glass of water would have been nice, but Petunia took her straight upstairs to the nursery.               

“Here’s my Duddykins,” Petunia whispered, her face taking on a worshipful expression.  “Isn’t he precious?  He looks just like Vernon!”             

Lily gazed at the plump, pink infant asleep in his crib.  Visions of baby piglets floated through her head.            

 “He does, at that,” she agreed. “He looks awfully large for three weeks, though.  How much did he weigh?”            

 “Nine pounds, seven ounces.  He was overdue, that’s all,” Petunia said defensively.             

Lily recognized that particular tone in Petunia’s voice and took herself off to the loo.  By the time she came downstairs, tea was ready.  Lily was relieved to sit down, and without asking leave kicked off her sandals.             

“Oh, that’s much better,” she sighed, propping her bare feet on a footstool. “My ankles look like tree trunks.  Are we the only ones here?  Your letter said you had someone helping you for a few weeks.”             

“I gave her the afternoon off,” Petunia explained.            

 “Oh?  Didn’t want her to meet your freaky sister?” Lily asked pertly.        

Petunia glared at her as she poured the tea.  She handed Lily a cup and offered her a pastry.               

“No thanks, sweets give me heartburn now,” Lily explained.               

They said little as they sipped their tea.  Lily noticed a playpen and baby swing set up in the corner.            

 “Those are nice,” she commented politely.            

 “Vernon’s sister brought them,” Petunia said proudly. “There isn’t room in the nursery, with all the gifts from my baby shower.  I’ll show them to you before you leave.”            

 “I don’t think I can manage the stairs again,” Lily said.  Her head was beginning to ache, and Petunia's strong perfume made her feel queasy.   

 “Did _you_ have a shower?” Petunia asked pointedly.             

“I had one this morning,” Lily grinned.             

“I was referring to—“             

“I know what you’re referring to,” Lily interrupted.  “No, I didn’t.  They’re not common with what Vernon calls ‘my lot.’”            

 “It must have been difficult to buy everything you’ll need for the baby, with your husband not working,” Petunia commented in a condescending tone.    

“James doesn’t have to work, Tuney.  He inherited a fortune from his parents and we live very nicely off the interest,” Lily said angrily.            

 “Vernon says—“           

 “I’m well aware that Vernon considers James a lazy good-for-nothing,” Lily interrupted, her voice rising.  “But I don’t care what he thinks.  James didn’t want me to come here today. He’s an only child, so he doesn’t understand that the bond between sisters can never be completely broken.  It would have been so nice if we could have gone through our pregnancies together, Tuney.  There wasn’t anyone I could talk to about morning sickness and stretch marks.  We could have gone shopping for maternity clothes and baby things.  Maybe we could have sat together as we nursed our children.”             

She dissolved into tears, and Petunia made a sound of disapproval.            

 “Pull yourself together,” she snapped, pushing some tissues into Lily’s hand. “You’ll bring on labor if you don’t calm down.  And for your information, Dudley is bottle-fed.”            

 “I don’t want to calm down,” Lily sobbed. “I miss you, Tuney.  Don’t you remember how close we were, before I got my Hogwarts letter?  That’s when everything changed between us.  Every time I came home for vacation, you were a little colder to me.  You thought Mother and Daddy loved me more but they didn’t.”            

 “They were so proud of having a witch in the family,” Petunia hissed.  “No matter what I did, I could never measure up.  It was always Lily this and Lily that.  I was accepted at Oxford, do you remember?  But they wouldn't pay my tuition and I had to settle for a secretarial course instead.”             

Lily blew her nose on a soggy tissue and shook her head in bewilderment.                       

 “How did you expect them to pay for something like that when Daddy was sick and couldn’t work?” she asked in disbelief.  “Did you ever check into scholarships or other financial aid?  Plenty of people work their way through college, you were just too lazy.”             

With difficulty, she shoved her feet back into her sandals and stood up. 

“James was right, I shouldn’t have come,” she muttered.  “You have a very selective memory when it comes to the past, Tuney.                                      

She pulled a small tissue-wrapped package from her handbag and tossed it on the coffee table.            

 “I made this for Dudley,” she said. “It’s too large now but he can wear it next winter.  You needn’t worry, there’s no spells or hexes attached.  We’ll send you an announcement when the baby’s born.”             

Petunia nodded shortly.  There was a long moment between the sisters as they stood in Petunia’s living room; Lily with one hand on the doorknob and Petunia with her arms folded, her distaste clearly evident.  It seemed that each was waiting for the other to say something more.  At last, Lily opened the door.             

“Goodbye, Tuney,” she said softly.               

“Goodbye, Lily.  Thank you for the gift,” Petunia said stiffly.             

Lily gave a brief nod and closed the door behind her.  Petunia unwrapped the package.  It was a yellow hand-knit sweater, with tiny red buttons shaped like boats.  Attached was a card, “To Dudley with love from Aunt Lily.”              

Petunia traced Lily’s words with the tip of her finger.  With love from Aunt Lily.  Something threatened to erupt inside of her.  Something that was buried so deep and overlaid with so much hate that Petunia scarcely recognized it as the love she had once had for her sister.  If she allowed that love to burst free, she would go running down the street after Lily and fling her arms around her sister.  Her mouth tightened and she resolutely pushed down the emotions threatening to overcome her.  She re-wrapped the sweater and shoved it into a drawer, where it would lie forgotten for months.  By the time she found it again, Dudley was long past being able to wear it


End file.
